Nelsons Monument in Glasgow

Well I'm just back from my walk and here is one of the pictures I took of the Nelson Monument in Glasgow Green (see previous post for more details).

Nelson and Trafalgar

In keeping with the nautical feel of yesterdays post today in 1805 The Battle of Trafalgar occurred off the coast of Spain. The British defeated the French and Spanish fleet. This confirmed Britain's worldwide naval superiority, something which was not really to be threatened for over 100 years until the arms race pre WWI. No mean feet when you consider that global trade, at this time, was vital to a healthy economy and this was tied in to a countries ability to travel by sea.

Admiral Lord Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, becoming one of Britain's greatest war heroes. In fact London's most famous square (Trafalgar) was laid out in 1829 to 1841 to commemorate Nelson's victory at the Battle. Though the first monument dedicated to Nelson is believed to have been erected in Glasgow Green in 1806. I think I might take a walk up and see it now as it's a nice day.

Tall and beautiful

A beautiful day in Glasgow and whilst out walking by the famous river Clyde I took this picture (on the right). It shows the tall ship 'The Glenlee'. She is a three masted barque, with length 245 feet, beam 37.5 feet and depth 22.5 feet.

The Glenlee first took to the water as a bulk cargo carrier in 1896. She circumnavigated the globe four times and survived (though not without incident) passing through the fearsome storms of Cape Horn 15 times before being bought by the Spanish navy in 1922 and being turned into a sail training vessel.

To find out more go visit, kids get in for free!!!

http://www.glenlee.co.uk/newsite/index.shtml

Justice?

Today back in 1989 The 'Guilford Four' were cleared of all charges and released after 14 years in prison. The charges were from the 1975 IRA bombings of public houses in Guildford and Woolrich, England.

As he emerged from the court, one of the four, Gerard Conlon, announced to the waiting crowds: "I have been in prison for something I did not do. I am totally innocent."

Guess who's back?

Well I have not blogged for a long time so I thought since I am at a new school it was time to get back in the swing. First off I want to say Hi to all the pupils at St C's and I hope you are enjoying your holiday.

Did you know that on this day in 1564 Sir John Hawkins begins 2nd trip to America?Despite being one of the foremost seamen of 16th-century England and main architect of the English navy he was also sadly to be the pioneer of the English slave trade. He was one of the first to run the triangular trade, making a profit at every stop. We can not judge him on today's standards as this would be somewhat unfair but think how different life would have been for millions if he had not been around.

Its good to be back!

Guernica

I have not posted in a while this is due to moving around a lot, holidays and internet issues. However as part of this travelling I write this post whilst sitting in Madrid and today I saw Guernica by Pablo Picasso. It was very impressive.

The painting shows the bombing of Guernica, which is in Basque Country (North Spain), by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. You can find out more about it by searching the usual sights on the internet.

Tickle Day

Today in 1603 all married men were made to tickle their wives as part of the souffrance lifting laws. This law was later changed on the same day the following year to include unmarried men and women too. It stayed a law until 1/4/1914 when the growing concerns about a European conflict left the nation in a less jovial mood.